ST. LOUIS (CNS)—The Jan. 31 announcement by Susan G. Komen for the
Cure that it will no longer give grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates
for breast cancer screenings "shows we are making a difference and
having an impact," said a coordinator of pro-life programs for the St.
Louis Archdiocese.

Sarah Swaykus, who is with the Respect Life Apostolate, made the
comments in an interview with the St. Louis Review, newspaper of the
archdiocese.

Maureen Kane, the apostolate's parish and elementary program
coordinator, said she was pleased that the Komen organization recognized
the inappropriateness of working with Planned Parenthood and that she
hopes "they can direct their attention to continuing to help people
dealing with cancer."

Komen, an international organization based in Dallas, raises millions
annually for the detection, treatment and research of breast cancer. One
of its signature events is the annual Race for the Cure held in
communities around the country.

Besides providing abortions, Planned Parenthood offers free breast exams
and mammograms, considered key to early detection of breast cancer. The
Komen foundation had previously said that it intended its contributions
go toward these exams but could not control how funds were allocated at
Planned Parenthood.

Leslie Aun, a spokeswoman for Komen, told The Associated Press that the
organization's decision to end its relationship with Planned Parenthood
was based on a new policy that says grants cannot be given to
organizations that are being investigated by government authorities,
whether it is at the state, local or federal level.

Planned Parenthood is currently the focus of an investigation by U.S.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., to see whether public money was improperly
spent on abortions.

The Planned Parenthood Federation issued a statement that Komen "appears
to have succumbed to political pressure" by pro-life groups and others
that have called to end of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

In recent years, the St. Louis Archdiocese and several other U.S.
dioceses have asked Catholic groups to suspend support for Komen, citing
its contributions to Planned Parenthood and the fact the foundation
does not exclude the possibility of funding research that uses embryonic
stem cells.

Last April, the Archdiocese of St. Louis reissued one of its previous
policy statements on the Komen foundation: "Due to its policy allowing
affiliates to offer financial support to abortion-providing facilities,
its denial of studies showing abortion as a cause of breast cancer, and
its endorsement of embryonic stem-cell research, the Respect Life
Apostolate neither supports nor encourages participation in activities
that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure."

Last July Bishop Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, told Catholic
institutions and schools in that diocese to suspend fundraising efforts
for Komen and instead direct such donations to a local group of
Catholic-run cancer centers.

Father Shenan J. Boquet, president of Human Life International in Front
Royal, Va., praised the Komen foundation for taking "the courageous step
of separating themselves" from Planned Parenthood.

"The more organizations and companies who recognize Planned Parenthood
for what it is—a corrupt, divisive and destructive fraud perpetrated
against women's health, and especially against children—the more
people of faith and reason can join together in supporting causes that
truly improve women's health," he said. "Clearly, abortion is not good
for women's health."

Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, also praised Komen for its decision.

"As a breast cancer survivor, I applaud the decision of the Komen
Foundation to discontinue their partnership with the nation's largest
abortion provider," she said in a statement.

In a letter to Congress last April urging lawmakers to exclude from the
federal budget any funding for Planned Parenthood or its affiliates,
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston called the federation
"by far the largest provider and promoter of abortions nationwide."

The cardinal, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life
Activities, said that Planned Parenthood also has opposed "any
meaningful limits on abortion, including modest measures such as public
funding bans, informed consent provisions and parental notice
requirements on unemancipated minors."